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Ron Paul Walks Out Of CNN Interview After Racism Questions

Cochise — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:49:43 +0000

While being interviewed by CNN’s Gloria Borger, Ron Paul walked away from the interview after being asked about the racist newsletters that were put out in his name in the 80s and 90s.

After Paul gave the same implausible explanation that he didn’t write them and never looked over them and was not aware of them until ten years after, Borger continued to question him and Paul took off his microphone and walked away.

Ron Paul Addresses Racist Newsletters On CNN

Cochise — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:55:41 +0000

Texas congressman and GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul appeared on CNN and was questioned about the racist newsletters that were written under his name in the 80s and 90s.

Ron Paul disavowed the newsletters and claimed he didn’t write them. He said that they were written by between six or eight people who worked for his staff. When asked if he could find out who wrote the newsletters Paul said “Well, possibly I could.”

In 1996 a Paul spokesman did not not deny that Paul wrote the newsletters and defended them according to the Houston Chronicle.

A campaign spokesman for Paul said statements about the fear of black males mirror pronouncements by black leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has decried the spread of urban crime.

Paul continues to write the newsletter for an undisclosed number of subscribers, the spokesman said.

Again in 1996, Ron Paul campaign spokesman, Michael Sullivan did not deny Paul wrote the newsletters but said he was be “quoted out of context” in a statement to to Austin American Statesman obtained by the Libertarian magazine “Reason.”

“Dr. Paul is being quoted out of context,” [Paul spokesman Michael] Sullivan said. “It’s like picking up War and Peace and reading the fourth paragraph on Page 481 and thinking you can understand what’s going on.”

Also in 1992, Paul wrote, “Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions.”

Sullivan said Paul does not consider people who disagree with him to be sensible. And most blacks, Sullivan said, do not share Paul’s views. The issue is political philosophy, not race, Sullivan said.

“Polls show that only about 5 percent of people with dark-colored skin support the free market, a laissez faire economy, an end to welfare and to affirmative action,” Sullivan said. [...]

“You have to understand what he is writing. Democrats in Texas are trying to stir things up by using half-quotes to impugn his character,” Sullivan said. “His writings are intellectual. He assumes people will do their own research, get their own statistics, think for themselves and make informed judgments.”

Ron Paul did not say why he did not deny writing the newsletters in 1996 and had his campaign spokesman defend them. He was not asked about his connections to the racist organization, The John Birch Society or the support he receives from the white supremacist site, Stormfront.

T.J. Holmes To Leave CNN

Cochise — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:45:38 +0000

T.J. Holmes is leaving CNN, according to The Root.

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CNN weekend news anchor T.J. Holmes will be leaving the network at the end of the year, a CNN representative just confirmed in answer to a query by The Root. Additional details, including where he is heading next, are not yet available. TVNewser has published a CNN staff memo which simply states that he is leaving “to pursue other opportunities.”

Read more on T.J.’s departure at The Root.

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CNN Admits Democratic Strategist Works For Obama Campaign

Cochise — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:39:13 +0000

CNN has admitted that Cornell Belcher, who appeared on Anderson Cooper’s show as a guest actually works with Obama’s 2012 campaign.

In February, CNN announced that Belcher would join their team of paid political contributors.

The Daily News reports:

On Wednesday night’s telecast of “Anderson Cooper 360,” the show’s anchor delivered an on-air clarification about Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher after we noticed that CNN was not introducing the pollster as a current member of President Obama’s reelection team.

Belcher is no longer a paid on-air contributor to the cable news network because, a CNN spokeswoman says, he has begun work for the President’s 2012 campaign.

Black Web Entrepreneur Defends TechCrunch Founder Against Charges Of Racism

Cochise — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:22:55 +0000

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Angela Benton is the founder of BlackWeb 2.0 and the new web business developer for Black entrepreneurs, the NewMe Accelerator. InteractiveOne, the parent company of NewsOne, is a supporter of the NewMe, and has given this platform to Ms. Benton to respond to a growing controversy about a preview of an upcoming episode of CNN's "Black In America" series that covers NewMe's recent program in Silicon Valley. In the preview, TechCrunch founder and former editor Michael Arrington says that he "doesn't know a single Black entrepreneur" in Silicon Valley. That sparked a flurry of social media outrage at Arrington, and more back and forth. Here now we present Ms. Benton's response.]

You know that I must have a lot on the brain if I’m coming out of hiatus from writing.

I just wanted to address a few things, mainly because I feel like the potential for overwhelmingly negativity associated with being black in technology (and in silicon valley) is looming. When we were organizing the NewME Accelerator we got an enormous amount of positive support about the mission and people really stepping up to the plate. There were a few bad apples but I make it a habit not to pay attention to those. Those that supported were people who likely hadn’t heard about me or the work that I have been doing for the past 4 years here. Just about everyone we contacted wanted to be involved which was great. The success rate for gaining both sponsorship and mentorship was off the charts. Not only that, living in the house with the Founders and being able to experience their ups and downs, my own, and their growth has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my life. That said I’ve kinda been on Cloud 9 since we began this thing. That is until now.

I feel grateful that we are able to share the experiences of the Founders and the program on such a huge platform like CNN. It seemed that they really got what we were trying to do and the people involved with it’s production were beyond cool. But, they are here to do a job… and that job is to make good TV. Before I go on let me note that I haven’t seen the documentary yet so some of you have a leg up on me. However, what I do know is a lot of the back story which nearly all of you don’t. Having someone film you everyday and debrief you… on camera… even about the minutia of your day is enlightening to the process of how traditional media works. There is no way any of that could possibly be captured in a 40 min documentary. That said HUNDREDS of hours of footage were captured. They interviewed Mike Arrignton, if I remember correctly, for 3 hours or so. What you are seeing or will see is a sliver of his interview, mine, others interviews, and the stories of the Founders. I have to go on record to say that I don’t think Mike Arrington is a racist. And when I first read his comments I took them as him being excited to put someone on stage NOT that it was some sort of act of affirmative action. [Disclosure: The person he was referring to on stage was Clarence Wooten and his new start-up Arrived. Clarence has been a long time friend and advisor at Black Web 2.0. I also am a supporter of Arrived and have an equity stake it in.] While I do think it was a bad choice of words (clown show comment) that doesn’t make him a racist. It makes him unprepared to answer questions that often have a bad way of going south. I made the same mistake this summer, the only difference is I got several opportunities to clarify on camera. While I’ve only met him once I am a fan of his work and don’t know him to be a liar. I wholeheartedly agree with what Hank Williams, a participant in NewME this summer recently wrote (Note: Hank has seen the doc):

Mike said a few very clear things about his view of the state of diversity in Silicon Valley.

its true that there are very few African-Americans in Silicon Valley

despite this, Silicon Valley is a pure meritocracy

you become successful because you have a “big brain”

First, let me say, I think Mike truly believes everything that he has said about the tech world being a meritocracy. Lots of people believe that.

But I do not believe Silicon valley is a meritocracy. I would more properly say that tech *markets* are a meritocracy. There are very few businesses where a single individual in her bedroom can create a piece of software that can potentially touch millions of people without any additional capital. No matter how talented you are, if you want to open a hot new restaurant or a shoe factory, you need lots of money before you start. Not necessarily so with software.Consumers and businesses, for the most part, don’t care what the ethnicity of their software or Internet service vendors are. Users want solutions. And so if an entrepreneur can get a great product completed cheaply, in many cases they can compete on totally even footing. Even if they ultimately need capital, explosive initial success knocks down all known barriers.

But the market *makers* operate in a world that is not particularly even-handed. The market makers are the folks that help new young companies and entrepreneurs by providing insight, mentoring, capital, and relationships. And this part of the tech world is driven by all the same types of biases that exist in the non-tech world. And it is *much* harder for even the most talented African Americans in the tech world to gain access to influential, insightful, connected mentors, let alone investors.

Please read Hank’s full commentary, it’s a great read.

It’s clear there is a problem with race in the technology industry, if there weren’t we’d see more diverse Founders and success stories. And to say that it is based on merit alone you may as well go ahead and say that those not represented today are incapable of producing great companies… we all know that isn’t true. But to make 1 person out to be a racist and that represents the whole industry is something that is distrubing and I don’t agree with. Not only that, to see so many people that I respect online gravitate to such a small portion of the documentary and literally overshadow all the positivity of the program and what the Founders are doing is disgusting. It also hurts the program. My vision for the program was always to give minorities a way to learn from EVERYONE who had means to teach and had been successful in their own right. But what people don’t realize is race IS such a charged conversation that those that aren’t minorities don’t want to labeled as racist, sexist, agist, etc. and often times tip toe around giving really great feedback that can help someone to avoid being labeled this way. I saw that first hand this summer and THIS HELPS NO ONE.

Lets go back to basics… what the documentary is showing is a story. Every story needs to have a beginning, an end, a plot, and antagonist, and a protagonist among other things. And in this day in age with reality TV dominating air waves it’s inevitable that any programming will always include some drama as well.

Let’s all look beyond the drama and the carrot that is dangling in front of us and get to work. Let’s kick some ass and build great products, launch great products, be great Founders, and continue to do so so that no one can deny you anything. And after that lets give back and make it easier for those who will come after you. I know that myself and others are committed to do all that we can to make sure that those that aren’t represented today are represented tomorrow and have the resources (funding, mentors, knowledge, and a network) to succeed.

Herman Cain Says Black Voters Have Been Brainwashed

Cochise — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:04:24 +0000

On CNN’s “The Situation Room,” Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain claimed that African American voters have been brainwashed into not being open minded about voting for the GOP.

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Despite these claims, Cain says one third to half of Black voters are open minded and he believes there is hope for African Americans to turn to the conservative side.

The Huffington Post reports:

The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza said, “I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative.” He added, “So it’s just brainwashing and people not being open-minded, pure and simple.”

Despite the comments, Cain signaled he sees “good news” in the situation in that he believes one-third to 50 percent of black Americans are “open-minded.” He explained, “I meet them every day. They stop me in the airport. And so this whole notion that all black Americans are necessarily going to stay and vote Democrat and vote for Obama, that’s simply not true. More and more black Americans are thinking for themselves. And that’s a good thing.”

Rand Paul Clashes With CNN’s Don Lemon Over Debt Ceiling

Cochise — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:26:59 +0000

Kentucky senator Rand Pau; got into a heated debate this past weekend over the raising of the debt ceiling with CNN anchor Don Lemon.

The argument began when Lemon asked Paul to not conduct the interview with any “talking points.”

The Huffington Post reports:

As the House and Senate again failed to reach an agreement on how to raise the debt ceiling, Paul appeared on CNN to explain the Tea Party position on the talks. Lemon started off the interview by asking him to chat “without talking points.” He also began aggressively trying to get Paul to answer his questions, asking him repeatedly how he had voted on the so-called “Cut, Cap and Balance” bill from the House.

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CNN Attacks Fox News’ (Lack Of) Reporting

Cochise — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:24:12 +0000

It appears the Rupert Murdoch, News Corp scandal is not only stirring controversy in the U.K., as it has now spilled into American media.

On his CNN show “Reliable Sources,” Howard Kurtz condemned Fox News, which is owned by News Corp, for not covering the scandal in which its sister company is being investigated for corruption and phone hacking. Kurtz said by not dedicating coverage on the matter, Fox News “undermines its credibility.”

“When CNN has controversy, we always do it,” he said. Kurtz suggested that Fox News, which is known for its spirited reporting, is only “aggressive” when someone else is in trouble, alluding that the company is protecting its own.

Video Below:

Kurtz’s segment didn’t sit well with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, who released the following statement on her blog:

On your CNN show today in which you were critical of the Fox News Channel and what you say is Fox’s lack of coverage on the hacking scandal, you neglected to mention that on ON THE RECORD at 10pm we have, in our last two live broadcasts, covered the news story.

We did it in a responsible manner. I urge you to go back and check. It was just the facts and no sugarcoating. Your omission today skews a fair analysis. I should add that I am sending you this message publicly because last time you did not do your homework on another topic I politely sent a message to you privately. Greta

Other media outlets have pointed out that CNN failed to report that Piers Morgan, who works for the network, is former editor of News Corp-owned News of the World, and may or may not be implicated in the Rupert Murdoch scandal as well.

Morgan said during an appearance on daytime’s “The Talk” that he expected the topic would be addressed. But he said, “I’m not going to join the Murdoch bashing.”

NAACP Blasts CNN: No African-American Anchors In Prime Time

Cochise — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:50:22 +0000

NAACP President Todd Jealous blasted CNN for not having any African-American anchors in their newly announced prime time news line-up.

“As CNN announced their new schedule, a glaring omission was present — no African Americans were hosts or anchors in their prime time lineup,” he said.

“The NAACP is deeply concerned with the lack of African-American journalists in prime time, both on cable and national network news shows.”

Jealous added, “We have come to expect this from the likes of Fox News, but not other networks.”

The LA Times Reports:

Shifts in CNN’s schedule included adding CNBC personality Erin Burnett. The network has declined comment on the NAACP criticism. Exclusion of African Americans is significant, Jealous said, because the prime-time slots are the most influential in daily news. Although CNN, Bloomberg News, CNBC, Fox News and MSNBC have shows scheduled every hour to discuss financial and world news, and occassionally have black commentators, not one show is headlined or anchored by an African American.

“It’s All Strategy!” NewsOne’s Dan Charnas Explains Attacks On Common

Cochise — Mon, 16 May 2011 18:52:44 +0000

CNN invited NewsOne’s very own Editorial Director Dan Charnas to be part of their expert panel discussion on the uproar caused by rapper Common’s recent invitation to a White House poetry reading.

Check out the footage below.

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